Shoe sole safety device

ABSTRACT

A THIN, NON-SKID PATCH ADHERED TO THE BOTTOM OF A SHOE SOLE AND HAVING A SOFTNESS SUFFICIENT THAT IT WILL WEAR AWAY WITHIN A FEW DAYS OF A FEW WEEKS OF USE. THE PREFERRED PATCH IS PROVIDED WITH A PRESSURE-SENSTIVE ADHESIVE ON ONE SIDE WHICH IS COVERED BY RELEASE PAPER. THE RELEASE PAPER IS PULLED AWAY FROM THE ADHESIVE SO THAT THE PATCH MAY BE APPLIED ON THE RELATIVELY SMOOTH SURFACE OF THE SOLE OF A NEW SHOE. THE PREFERRED PATCH IS TRANSPARENT SO THAT IT WILL NOT BE NOTICEABLE ON THE SOLE OF THE SHOE AND MAY BE PROVIDED WITH RIDGES TO INCREASE ITS NON-SKID CHARACTERISTICS. THE PATCH MAY BE MADE OF A THERMOPLASTIC SUCH AS A FLEXIBLE POLYVINYL CHLORIDE FILM.

Feb. 9, 1971 v F. T, LUDWIG 3,561,140

SHOE SOLE SAFETY DEVICE Filed June 16, 1969 FIG 1 FIG 4 ATTO RNEY INVEN". FREDERICK .T. LU 6 United States Patent O 3,561,140 SHOE SOLE SAFETY DEVICE Frederick T. Ludwig, 2574 Chester Road, Columbus, Ohio 43221 Filed June 16, 1969, Ser. No. 833,557 Int. Cl. A43b 23/28 US. CI. 36-59 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A thin, non-skid patch adhered to the bottom of a shoe sole and having a softness sufficient that it will wear away within a few days or a few weeks of use. The preferred patch is provided with a pressure-sensitive adhesive on one side which is covered by release paper. The release paper is pulled away from the adhesive so that the patch may be applied on the relatively smooth surface of the sole of a new shoe. The preferred patch is transparent so that it will not be noticeable on the sole of the shoe and may be provided with ridges to increase its non-skidcharacteristics. The patch may be made of a thermoplastic such as a flexible polyvinyl chloride film.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an anti-skid safety device for use on shoes and more particularly relates to a non-skid patch adhered to each sole of a new pair of shoes.

The wearing of a newly purchased pair of shoes can often be dangerous. If the shoes have leather soles, the soles are extremely smooth. A person walking with such new shoes is subject to severe slipping, tripping or falling especially when walking on smooth surfaces or on carpet. Of course if the owner makes it through the first day or so with his new shoes without any injury, the shoe soles become sufficiently scuffed and roughened that the danger of slipping and falling ceases to exist. However, there is a need for a device which will protect the purchaser of a new pair of shoes for at least the first day or so after his purchase.

A device for protecting a purchaser against these slips and falls should have the characteristics of being easily and quickly applied to the sole of the shoes; of having non-skid surfaces; and of being only temporary until the shoe soles have become sufiiciently rough to remove the possibility of falling. A further desirable characteristic is that devices be nearly invisible when positioned on the shoe soles and that they not cause marking or injury to the surface being walked on.

Many devices have been provided to substantially increase the frictional forces between a shoe bottom and the surface being walked on. All the devices known to me are provided to compensate for the insuificient friction provided by various surfaces which are Walked on. For example, some devices are provided to enable a person to walk more safely on ice. However, my invention involves a device which is intended to compensate for the madequate friction provided by the sole of a new shoe. This is important, because although a person can walk away from ice onto a surface which has more friction, the soles of his shoes are always beneath him.

Although previously known devices work quite well for their intended function, they are far too rugged, bulky and large in size to permit comfortable walking in ordinary places, such as on sidewalks or in buildings. Some of them, at least, are detrimental to surfaces on which the wearer walks. For example, such devices may scar or deface a polished floor.

Therefore it is an object of my invention to provide an improved shoe non-skid device.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a nonskid device which is very easily and conveniently applied to the sole of a shoe.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device which will provide suflicient friction for the bottom of a pair of shoes and yet will not be noticeable either visibly to other persons or to the feel of the person wearing them.

A further object of the invention is to provide an antiskid device which will wear away and disappear within a few days or a week or so of use so that after application to the sole of the shoe it may be forgotten by the wearer.

Further objects and features of my invention will be apparent from the following specification and claims when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating the embodiments of my invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION I have found that the above and other objects may be attained in a safety sole device for attachment to the sole of a new shoe in order to provide a temporary non-skid surface on the shoe. The device is a thin patch, one side of which is a non-skid surface and having a pressuresensitive adhesive coated on the opposite side of which release paper may be positioned. The release paper may be pulled away from the adhesive and the patch then adhered to the sole of the shoe. Preferably the patch is transparent and may be provided with non-skid ridges on its non-skid surface. The patch should be sufficiently soft that it wears away within a few days of use.

DESCRIPTION OF THE VIEWS FIG. 1 is a plan view of the preferred embodiment of my invention.

FIG. 2 is a view in vertical section illustrating the preferred embodiment of my invention having the adhesive and the release paper on its one side.

FIG. 3 is a view in perspective showing a shoe and especially the sole of the shoe on which a preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 1 has been adhered.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of an embodiment of the invention illustrating the use of circular ridges as a non-skid surface.

In describing the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake of clarity. However it is not intended to be limited to specific terms so selected and it is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate the preferred embodiment of my invention before it is attached to a shoe sole. The safety sole device comprises a thin patch 10 one side of which is a non-skid surface 12. The opposite side of the patch is coated with a pressure sensitive adhesive 14. A piece of release paper 16 covers and protects the adhesive 14.

The preferred patch illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 is made of colorless polyvinyl chloride film or molding. This material is transparent so that the sole of the shoe is visible through the patch when the patch is positioned on the shoe. Although I prefer that the patch be transparent it would be acceptable that the patch merely be translucent so that light reflected from the sole may pass out of the patch and therefore lend to the patch the color of the sole.

I have found that the synthetic thermoplastic resin film such as polyvinyl chloride film or molding has the desirable qualities; that it is resilient and is sufliciently soft;

and that it will wear away from the shoe after a few days of use of the shoe. Of course, other materials might be used in embodiments of my invention. For example, some rubber materials might be used. I have found that materials which provide favorable results, that is, those which exhibit the desired softness, are generally resilient materials which will wear away within a few days.

Such polyvinyl film may be polyvinyl chloride or polyvinyl chloride-polyvinyl acetate copolymers. It should preferably be flexible plasticised film or molding. It preferably is cast from a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastisol.

In FIG. 4 I illustrate an alternative embodiment of my invention on which circular ridges have been molded. Of course, various patterns might be molded into the nonskid surface 12 of an embodiment of my invention but I prefer that the circular ridges illustrated in FIG. 4 be used.

Operation of my invention is simple and illustrates the important advantages my invention offers. After selling a new pair of shoes to a customer, a shoe salesman takes a pair of the safety sole devices such as illustrated in FIG. 2 and removes the release paper 16 to reveal the pressure sensitive adhesive surface 14. He will merely press the adhesive 14 against the sole 17 of the shoe 18 as illustrated in FIG. 3. The same steps will be followed for the other shoe of the pair. After taking these steps the purchaser and the salesman can forget about the safety sole devices on each sole.

A person wearing the shoes from the store is immediately protected by the non-skid patch attached to the sole. He need not worry or be concerned about falling-they will grip the sidewalk or other surface being walked on. As he walks the sole 17 will be scuffed and abraded by the various surfaces his shoes will encounter. As this is occurring, simultaneously my safety sole device will be abraded away slowly until after a day or so of use it will have completely disappeared.

It can be seen that my device not only accomplishes its purpose of proviidng a non-skid surface when needed but is, unlike prior devices, not unsightly and is extremely easy to attach to the shoe. Furthermore, it requires no attention, no effort and lends no discomfort to the user. It merely does its job when needed and disappears when no longer needed causing no harmful effects on the user or on the objects he walks on.

It is to be understood that while the detailed drawings and specific examples given describe preferred embodiments of my invention they are for the purpose of illustration only, that the apparatus of the invention is not limited to the precise details and conditions disclosed and that various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A safety sole device for attachment to the sole of a new shoe to provide a temporary non-skid surface on the shoe, the device comprising:

(a) a thin patch adapted to be substantially smaller than the sole of a shoe, one side thereof being a non-abrasive, anti-scuff, non-skid surface and having sufiicient softness and thinness that it will wear away within a few days normal use;

(b) a pressure sensitive adhesive coated on the oppo- 10 site side of the patch; and

(c) release paper covering the adhesive;

wherein the release paper may be pulled from the adhesive and the patch adhered to a sole by said 1 5 adhesive.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein the patch is a translucent material.

3. A device according to claim 1, wherein the patch is a transparent material.

4. A device according to claim 1, wherein ridges are formed on the non-skid side of the patch.

5. A device according to claim 1, wherein the patch is polyvinyl chloride.

6. A device according to claim 5, wherein the patch is 5 resilient, transparent and is provided with ridges on its non-skid side.

7. A non-skid shoe provided with a temporary nonskid surface on its sole, the shoe comprising in combination:

(a) a shoe having a sole; and

(b) a thin patch substantially smaller than the sole of the shoe adhered to the sole by an adhesive coated on one side of the patch, the other side of the patch having a non-abrasive, anti-scuff, non-skid surface, the patch having sufficient softness and thinness that it will wear away within a few days normal use.

8. A shoe according to claim 7, wherein the patch comprises transparent polyvinyl chloride.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,714,943 5/1929 Brockman 3632UX 1,716,790 6/1929 Mitchell 3659 1,857,975 5/1932 Reynolds 36-59UX 2,740,208 4/1956 Dye 3659 3,092,103 6/1963 Mower 215UX JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner G. H. KRIZMANICH, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 3615 

